.

Thursday, 21 November 2013

A Nice Little Owl....

It was high tide at Cockersands when I visited on Tuesday and Plover Scar was deserted, but the visit was made all the worth while if only for finding my first Little Owl here, void of searching my records possibly three years since the last one seen. The bird flew out of a tree by the road and flew across the horse paddock at Bank Houses where the Little Owl was regular for many years. Another decent record at Cockersands yesterday was that of up to 30 Greenfinch feeding on the wild bird cover crops. Also noted, 12 Eider, 32 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Little Egret, and 3 Reed Bunting.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock 15 Bewick's Swan, ten - including two juvenile - were off Bodie Hill, and five adult Bewick's Swan were seen from the bowling green where I counted up to 20 Goldeneye. On Glasson Marsh, estimates of 2,000 Golden Plover, 1,500 Lapwing, and 240 Black-tailed Godwit, a Raven went over having the same effect on the assembled waders as any raptor would have done.

On the canal basin I counted at least 90 Tufted Duck and noted male and female Pochard again. At Conder Green I got the count to 10 Little Grebe on this visit, with 3 Goldeneye, 3 Goosander, 8 Wigeon, and 2 Little Egret all on the pool, up to 200 Teal are still present in the creeks.

Brown Hare. Howard Stockdale.

I rarely fail to see Brown Hare in the Cockersands area, but don't record them in my book these days. I've lost touch with how the figures add up today compared to a year ago....perhaps its time for me to put things right on Brown Hare records.Thanks to Noushka/Simon/Howard for the excellent images.